[Korean DVD Roundup] April 2006 - Part 2

Note: Budget Re-Releases are not included (everybody and their dog is doing them nowadays, it would take years). Scores are out of 10, and the 'Overall' score counts the film rating twice. Ratings are not an exact science (especially mine!), but, generally, if I did my job correctly, the little average you find at the end of every mini-review should tell you:

8.00~10.00 MUST BUY
7.00~7.99 WORTH BUYING
6.00~6.99 RENT FIRST/WORTH A LOOK
5.00~5.99 ONLY IF YOU LOVE THE FILM
0.00~4.99 AVOID

To buy the DVD, click the '1DVD' (or more if available) link on every film.

Read the previous Roundups:

Korean DVD Roundup - March 2006
Korean DVD Roundup - February 2006
Korean DVD Roundup - July~October 2005 Part 1
Korean DVD Roundup - July~October 2005 Part 2
Korean DVD Roundup - July~October 2005 Part 3

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enterOne - 2006/04/14
백만장자의 첫사랑 (A Millionaire's First Love)
2005 - 2DVD
Director: 김태균 (Kim Tae-Gyun)
Cast: 현빈 (Hyun Bin) as Jae-Kyung, 이연희 (Lee Yeon-Hee) as Eun-Hwan, 이한솔 (Lee Han-Sol) as Myung-Shik, 조용준 (Jo Yong-Joon) as Gu-Ho, 정욱 (Jung Wook), 김병세 (Kim Byung-Se), 이칸희 (Lee Kan-Hee)
CAMEO: 양금석 (Yang Geum-Seok), 이재구 (Lee Jae-Goo), 이정한 (Lee Jung-Han)
OAR 1.85:1/16:9, DD5.1/DD2.0, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 2.5
Will we ever see a film styled after 순정만화 (romance comics for teenage girls) that, like, doesn't reach the deepest pits of hell? If anything, trying to find some peculiarities inside Kim Tae-Gyun's car wreck high-teen romance 백만장자의 첫사랑 (A Millionaire's First Love) will reveal some uniquely Korean variations on the genre: plenty of superficial class divide (see, he's got a foreign sports car. He's a Millionaire!), and the now customary 'corny, warm hearted country bumpkins all love us' cliches we should all thank 집으로... (The Way Home) for.

Our Prince Charming is on the verge of enjoying an inheritance of hundreds of Billions (Won), but guess what, he'll have to complete a mission to get the money. Go to the countryside and graduate, and in the meantime become a person who can deserve all that money. Then we have our innocent, pure, pretty... and sick girl, who our hero will call 'ugly' since you have to cater to all the ugly duckling complexes of your teenage viewers, right (even when the actress, Lee Yeon-Hee, is everything but ugly)? And what would the modus operandi be here? The first half hour of the film is like an extended Music Video, full of every possible cliche in the book, complete with idiotic 'Hey, I've got money. I'm rich! See, this is a real Calvin Klein!'-like dialogue. The second half, like every other film of this genre, turns tragic and starts smelling like Nyquil by the hour mark.

The characters described in the film feel just out of an urbanite's 'city complex'. That is, rich and educated folks in the city have lost all the basic values, and will need to go back to their roots, meet old-fashioned country bumpkins with a heart of gold and change for the better. Wahhh.... that's so romantic. It's watching films like these that makes me glad something like 구타유발자들 (A Bloody Aria) exists. Despite showing some of the charm which helped 내 이름은 김삼순 (My Lovely Sam-Soon) rise to the top last year -- even though it was Kim Seon-Ah's show, mostly -- when the characterization is so asinine, Hyun Bin can't do much. And of course the repeating of all those 'Sam-Shik' tropes in the film is another of the many obvious attempts at banking on current trends. Lee Yeon-Hee is cute and has that strangely appealing aura as always, but the character is just as bad. And when you have good supporting actors like Kim Byung-Se, the 'Jang Dong-Gun of Daily Dramas', why waste him with such a throwaway role?

Think about it: Korea's 'representative' high-teen romance director Kim Tae-Gyun, writer Kim Eun-Sook of 파리의 연인 (Lovers in Paris) and its hilariously bad sequel, and finally our Sam-Shik. Add to the mix music from SM Entertainment mainstay Dong Bang Shin Gi and you've got the perfect formula for a success with one of today's major target demographic in Chungmuro. But... it didn't work. Why? Because the story is ridiculously predictable, the 반전 (twist) works like changing from hip hop to grandma's favourite bluegrass station, and the glacial pace doesn't help.

I might be harsher with Director Kim Tae-Gyun because seeing someone who worked 'under' Lee Myung-Se for so long and debuted so well -- the crazy romcom 박봉곤 가출사건 (The Adventures of Mrs. Park) in 1996 -- turn into a low rent Kwak Jae-Yong (which is saying something, considering how annoying Kwak's films can be) hurts even more. After his excellent debut, Kim started directing piss poor melodramas like 키스 할까요 (First Kiss) and then started the romance comic saga, with 2004's horrible 늑대의 유혹 (Romance of Their Own). Although it's a fun little flick, even 화산고 (Volcano High) suffers from characters that never go anywhere, and overstays its welcome by a good 35 Minutes.

Expecting something original in this genre is pretty much useless, but then all you need is to make the characters convincing, throw in a solid dose of 사람냄새 (smell of people), make the comedy fun and the melodrama touching. Didn't Park Jin-Pyo teach everyone a lesson with 너는 내운명 (You Are My Sunshine) in that sense? But no, this film is simply content with taking its predictable outline and doing nothing with it. How about that part of the industry which still wastes time and money with this dreck grows up and smells the roses first, then we worry about the teenage girls later?
AUDIO: 7.5
Usual good job from enterOne, with the soundtrack particularly standing out.
VIDEO: 8
Extremely nice colours, skin tones are quite natural, and there's no problem with the print. Excellent transfer.
SUBTITLES: 6.5
Could have been a lot better, and when the film is so bad the subtitles should at least help you understand it a little. But right from the beginning they try to beat Director Kim's MTV aesthetics by going for the 'cool' over the 'literal.' Translation is not very good, and in more than one occasion the subs just tell their own story. Things improve a little in the second half, but it's still not good enough.
EXTRA FEATURES: 7
Disc 1
- Audio commentary with Director Kim, Lee Yeon-Hee, Hyun Bin and a Producer [Quite OK, although with such a car wreck of a film it's really hard to care about the details]
- After Commentary [Clip with the actors and director giving a few thoughts on the film]
Disc 2 [~90 Minutes]
Page 1
- Production Diary [25:27. Your standard Making of Doc, with interviews and behind the scenes. Pretty good]
- Life of a Millionaire [9:55. DP Choi Chan-Min starts introducing Jae-Kyung, then we see a few behind the scenes clips from the fight on the roof top and inside the parking lot. Then we movie to Jae-Kyung's living style, costumes and the like. Decent concept and produced pretty well]
- The Sound of Music [14:07. A featurette about the little musical at the end of the film, including all the scenes which lead to it and the related behind the scenes shoot, training of all the actors, and more. Lee Yeon-Hee's English pronunciation is quite good. This is decent fun]
- Eun-Hwan's Tears [7:19. Guess what this is about? That's right: Eun-Hwan. Crying, and other assorted sad things. Lee Yeon-Hee is pretty and all, but come on. Can you say throwaway?]
- Jae-Kyung and Eun-Hwan's Love Story [8:07. Behind the scenes clips and NGs, of course dealing with our leads. Nothing special, but at least Wang Young-Jin's Gray Noise is in the background for a good 3 Minutes, so it's a least a good listen.]
Page 2
- Love Song [10:50. An interesting interview with Music Director Kim Tae-Sung and Director Kim Tae-Gyun about the music in the film and the concept behind it, and then all the important tracks are covered in depth]
- Poster Shoot [5:23. We see the starts get ready, discuss details with the photographer, and then pose for the (very ordinary) posters. In the middle, the actors make a few comments]
- Theatrical Trailer [2:18. Explaining films like this doesn't take a rocket scientist, so Trailers always tend to be better than the actual films. Then again, the Dong Bang Shin Gi song is like walking with a knife on your back, Oh Dae-Soo style]
- Photo Gallery [10:30. You can choose between stills of Eun-Hwan, Jae-Kyung, the two together and behind the scenes photos, with the soundtrack in the background, including Gray Noise by Wang Young-Jin (so you can rip it! Part of it, that is). Pretty nice]
- Music Video [4:03. 인사 by Sweet Sorrow. If there was anything salvageable from the film it was the soundtrack, which has a few decent tracks -- especially Wang Young-Jin's wonderful Gray Noise. This might not be it, but it's a decent song anyway, and at least fits with the film's style]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 6
Will Lee Yeon-Hee and Hyun Bin recover from this mess? Obviously. They're still very young and can improve their choice of films as well, let's just hope they do that fast. Can Director Kim recover from this? Seems like it, as he's already in pre-production with his next film, which doesn't sound much of a departure from his usual routine works. But the real question is: will you recover after watching this? If you didn't kill yourself watching this mess, maybe. You'll just need a marathon of great movies, to recover faith in Cinema. One of this year's worst films, and enterOne's usual good job (a bit lazy on the extras front and subtitles could be better, but chances are you won't need to watch this twice) doesn't save it from oblivion. Don't even touch this with a ten foot pole.
OVERALL: 5.71

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KD Media - 2006/04/06
광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny)
2005 - 2DVD
Director: 김현석 (Kim Hyun-Seok)
Cast: 김주혁 (Kim Ju-Hyeok) as Gwang-Shik, 봉태규 (Bong Tae-Gyu) as Gwang-Tae, 이요원 (Lee Yo-Won) as Yoon-Kyung, 김아중 (Kim Ah-Joong) as Gyung-Jae, 정경호 (Jung Kyung-Ho) as Il-Woong, 김형민 (Kim Hyung-Min) as Eui-Dong, 김효주 (Kim Hyo-Joo)
CAMEO: 이대연 (Lee Dae-Yeon), 박철민 (Park Cheol-Min), 김일웅 (Kim Il-Woong)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, DD5.1/DD2.0, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 7.5
You always liked her. Yeah, she's way younger, and you probably would get strange looks from your friends if they knew, but you still like her. A lot. Now the problem, of course, is telling her. That's when the (romantic, sometimes) comedy really starts. For Gwang-Shik that seems harder than anything else, so much that he kept everything to himself for seven years. Then there's the other side of the coin, those who see relationships as cards to stamp to get a free coffee after you've completed a round of 12. Your 바람둥이 (player) of sort. Two completely different personalities, two brothers with two different problems: confessing love (or whatever he thinks he's feeling) for one, understanding relationships go beyond a quickie twice a week after a movie and dinner for the other. Nothing new, as you say, but so was the case for Kim Hyun-Seok's past film, the underrated Historical Sports Black Comedy (!) YMCA 야구단 (YMCA Baseball Team). Unlike many young directors knocking at Chungmuro's door after a few years of working as assistant director, Kim got in thanks to his talent as a writer: his script for 사랑하기 좋은 날 (A Good Day To Love), written while in college, was instantly used for a film in 1995, and his second script won a Grand Bell Award for Best New Screenwriter even before it made to film.

After that, Shim Jae-Myung welcomed him in the Myung Films family, and he worked on the underrated (if a bit over the top) melodrama 해가 서쪽에서 뜬다면 (If The Sun Rises In The West), the first of many Baseball related films. He helped Park Chan-Wook write 공동경비구역 JSA (Joint Security Area) and was assistant director for Kim Ki-Duk's 섬 (The Isle). But despite his good start as a writer, getting a big project like YMCA Baseball Team was quite surprising for a newcomer, surprise which turned into excitement the moment he took the megaphone for the film starring Song Kang-Ho, Kim Hye-Soo and Kim Ju-Hyeok. With an outline which would instantly bring to mind nationalism, he managed to focus on 사람냄새 (smell of people) and a simple Baseball Game between two teams, with a few touches of history and the usual priceless performance from Song. Going back to the romcom genre for the first time since If The Sun Rises in The West, 광식이 동생 광태 (When Romance Meets Destiny) focuses on the characters first, and the events later, like a little gem called 싱글즈 (Singles).

The major problem of financially successful but rather bland romcoms like 작업의 정석 (The Art of Seduction) or 연애술사 (Love in Magic) was that of throwing two stars in the mix, expecting their screen presence will save the day. But, in contrast, by making our interest for Gwang-Shik and Gwang-Tae grow, then all the situations they fall into become all the more interesting, and you can deal with the awkward jokes and 'old fashioned' feeling of the film (which adds to the charm, in some ways similar to Singles). The film works first because the characters are well developed (the women in the film are no more than a male fantasy, but it doesn't really hurt as the focus is the way men approach relationships. Even better, in this case someone with a personality like Yoon-Kyung fits even more, as Gwang-Shik never knows what she's thinking), but also because casting is pretty much perfect: Kim Ju-Hyeok has become one of the top actors in Chungmuro when it comes to playing down-to-earth 'guy next door' types, as shown in Singles, 홍반장 (Mr. Handy) and this one; Bong Tae-Gyu, despite looking everything but a player, fits the role like a glove, balancing the spunk of his performance in 눈물 (Tears) with a Ryu Seung-Beom in 품행제로 (Conduct Zero)-like aura.

Other highlight of the film is the debut of young Kim Ah-Joong, one of the most popular stars on TV thanks to countless Variety Shows and a few Dramas, last but not least this year's chart topping Daily Drama 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch). A film of small pleasures, with an interesting script, an irreverent and smart soundtrack and nice pacing despite the (intentional) lack of intensity. Director Kim said he's going to stop making films about Baseball, lest he might be mistaken as an 'expert' in that field only, but I'd say he's hit two homeruns in a row so far. Just like Jang Jin, he's embedded his own style within genre tropes, always creating something that feels fresh despite never straying too far from the norm. That's pretty impressive for such a young director, and promises good thing for the future.
AUDIO: 7.5
Of course romcoms are not going to test your surround system (most of them anyway), but the audio here is very good, with clear dialogue and a nice use of the ironic soundtrack by Lee Byung-Hoon.
VIDEO: 8.5
Wonderful transfter. Great colours, extremely natural skin tones, and no problems whatsoever with the print.
SUBTITLES: 7.5
There's a few translation problems, and they could have worked a little harder on the obvious jokes (the OECD one sticks out even if you don't speak Korean). Some timing (translation related, mostly) and grammar/spelling mistakes, but overall very good. Translates all the songs (very basic, but drives home the ball) and with the exception of a few signs and pop up screens all the on-screen text.
EXTRA FEATURES: 8
Disc 1
- Audio Commentary with Director Kim Hyun-Seok, Kim Ju-Hyeok, Bong Tae-Gyu, Kim Hyung-Min, Jung Kyung-Ho [one of the most entertaining commentaries of the year. Just non-stop fun with the five cracking jokes and adding funny anecdotes from the shoot. Really relaxed mood, and that clearly helps]
- Audio Commentary with Director Kim and Music Director Lee Byung-Hoon [quite good as well, even more relaxed than the previous one, but same atmosphere]
- After Commentary [Director and Cast talk about their experience shooting the film]
Disc 2 [~105 Minutes]
Page 1
- Making Of Documentary [34:14, Very Good. We get to see everything from the opening ceremony to the most important shoots, with interviews and comments with staff and cast thrown in the middle]
- Deleted Scenes [13:25. Nothing really major. You can switch the Director's commentary and and off]
- Character Introduction [5:14. Footage from the shoot mixed with some textual introduction and a couple of comments from the actors]
- Character's Jobs [3:49. Kim Ju-Hyeok gets to learn how to use the Camera, and we get to see Kim Ah-Joong learn the art of renewing books]
Page 2
- Costumes/Art Direction [15:18. We go from make up to the costumes to all the work behind sets like the video store]
- Production Meeting [5:05, pretty nice, featuring interviews with the cast. This must have been just a few weeks after Kim Mu-Saeng's death, as Kim Ju-Hyeok can barely laugh]
- Premiere/VIP Screenings [5:00, hilarious how a viewer shouts '신물이 나요 (You look better in person)' the moment Bong Tae-Gyu grabs the mic]
- CG [1:01, just the Iraq scene and the finale]
- Poster Shoot [3:29, with both Teaser and Theatrical Posters]
- Easter Egg [Press UP from the first feature (1:01, a sort of trailer following the box office run of the film)]
Page 3
- Music Videos [The hilarious 삽질의 추억 (3:22, sung by Bong Tae-Gyu and Kim Ju-Hyeok), and Kim Ju-Hyeok's 'cover' of Park In-Hwan's 세월이 가면 (1:07)]
- Online TV Spots [3:00, features the most hilarious scenes from the film]
- Theatrical Trailer [3:00, hilarious, pushes all the right buttons]
- Still Gallery [5:00]
- Easter Egg [Press up from the first featurette, this time it's 4:40 of Bong Tae-Gyu fooling around with a camcorder on the video store set]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 8
It's too bad so many current romcoms in Chungmuro focus on star power instead of interesting characters and stories, which is probably the reason things like 생, 날선생 (Mr. Wacky) rarely work. This film had the perfect formula, with interesting characters, good acting and most importantly a truly entertaining experience. More than anything, it once again proves Director Kim Hyun-Seok is one to look out for, as he still hasn't made a single wrong step, and he always maintains that down-to-earth, low-key atmosphere which feels rather fresh compared to the histrionics shown by films like 작업의 정석 (The Art of Seduction). DVD is another good effort from KD Media, with very solid presentation and interesting extras, capped off by two of the most entertaining commentaries of the year. Even if you don't like the genre, this is highly recommended.
OVERALL: 7.79

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Cinema Service/Art Service - 2006/04/06
사랑을 놓치다 (Lost in Love)
2006 - 2DVD
Director: 추창민 (Chu Chang-Min)
Cast: 설경구 (Seol Kyung-Gu), 송윤아 (Song Yoon-Ah), 이기우 (Lee Gi-Woo), 이휘향 (Lee Hwi-Hyang), 장항선 (Jang Hang-Seon), 김승욱 (Kim Seung-Wook), 황석정 (Hwang Seok-Jung), 최재환 (Choi Jae-Hwan)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, DD5.1/DD2.0, Region 3, NTSC DVD-9, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 7
'How can the director of 마파도 (Mapado: Island of Fortunes) direct a melodrama?' must have been a question on many people's mind, but looking at Chu Chang-Min's career, one would feel more surprised someone like him ended up directing the 2005 comedy, which made a star out of Kim Soo-Mi and Lee Moon-Shik. A long time film aficionado, Chu even went to Kuwait in the early 90s, as part of a foreign construction program started in Korea. He debuted in Chungmuro as assistant director, working for Kim Sung-Soo in 태양은 없다 (Our Sunny Days) and the glorious little comedy 행복한 장의사 (The Happy Funeral Director), after which Chu started working on a short film. Then in 2003 he brought the script he had been writing for years to the attention of Cinema Service PD Lee Min-Ho, who accepted his offer, and here started the long journey of 사랑을 놓치다 (Lost in Love).

With the company in turmoil because of many films not performing as expected, and all the focus put on 실미도 (Silmido), the film fell into the backburner. Chu ended up working on Mapado even though people around him felt he wasn't fit for a comedy, but the success of the film (over 3 Million tickets) surprised everyone. You could say Chu made Mapado to get the chance to direct Lost in Love, as the focus of the film wasn't really its commercial appeal -- they decided on a simple modus operandi in pre-production: if big stars came in they'd go the regular way, otherwise they'd opt for a low-budget, independent-like film. Be it because she wanted to prove herself as an actress, Song Yoon-Ah had been interested in this project ever since its first steps in 2003, and waited 3 years to star in this, which also intrigued top star Seol Kyung-Gu. The two reunite after the success of the comedy 광복절 특사 (Jail Breakers), and their chemistry couldn't be better, one of the many reasons why this film manages to charm despite the ordinary story. There's nothing particularly 'exciting' happening here, as it's a simple story of two people slowly warming up to each other after following their own personal roads for years. But Chu's idea of focusing on 사람냄새 ('down-to-earth' smell) instead of plot devices, and let the actors work their own magic paid handsomely.

Perhaps because it doesn't feature any of the emotional histrionics you find in melodramas targeted at a younger audience, the film failed at the box office. But it's exactly this 'mature' feeling which makes it enjoyable. There's no sense of urgency here, if not to wrap up things a little. But like in Noh Hee-Kyung's 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo), those are barely the final words of a chapter, not of the entire book. Along with nice music and the top notch acting by Seol and Song (at her most natural), what's even more evident here is the subtle hand of Director Chu, who showed the same warmth in his previous film, despite its comedy trappings. Just like Park Heung-Shik of 나도 아내가 있었으면 좋겠다 (I Wish I Had a Wife) and 사랑해 말순씨 (Bravo, My Life), Chu has a talent for letting his actors guide the film in a very honest, natural way. And that makes his works raise above the rest. Quite an underrated film, and Chu shows a lot of promise.
VIDEO: 7
A good transfter, but a little soft and lacking in detail.
AUDIO: 7
Don't expect too much surround activity here, but the soundtrack and dialogue is used effectively.
SUBTITLES: 6
Sort of annoying, in a way. I know I always say I prefer subtitles that stay literal and try to stick to the source, but there's always a limit to that. Korean is an extremely colloquial language, especially compared to English. Just because every other line uttered by Seol Kyung-Gu features an 임마, 새끼 and the like (which in a certain context can also be used as insults, but not in this case), there's no need to add 'bastard' this and 'asshole' that. And the reason is context is everything with subtitles. You don't just add swear words talking casually with a friend in English, do you? And those 'swear words' in Korean are not really swear words until the context highlights them as such. That, in short, is the biggest reason why those little mistakes stick out. They end up making the dialogue look a little too heavy handed for a film like this. Also, some of the translation, especially concerning the few jokes thrown around in the film, is quite lame.
EXTRA FEATURES: 7.5
Disc 1
- Audio commentary with Director Chu Chang-Min and PD Lee Min-Ho [This is a nice listen, with plenty of information about the film, which is not all scene specific. We learn, for example, that at first the plan was not to end on a happy note, and that's only one of the many changes the script went through. Both are quite active, and frequently add interesting anecdotes]
Disc 2 [~96 Minutes]
- Making of Documentary [31.00. Usual mix of interviews and behind the scenes footage. Quite well made and enjoyable, especially when they try to 'guide' the dog]
- Interview with Song Yoon-Ah & Seol Kyung-Gu [12:40. Both follow a similar setup, introducing the reasons for starring in the film, describing the character and their feelings about the film. Very good]
- Director Interview [10:00. Very interesting and straight to the point, covering most of the important issues of the film, and focusing on the autobiographical elements of the story, and explaining why the woman in the film ends up being a sort of male fantasy -- because the story comes from a man's perspective]
- Deleted Scenes [18:00. There's even longer cuts of existing scenes, but some decent stuff in here which could have been used, especially scenes between the two dealing with their relationship post-sex, and a fight between Sang-Shik and Woo-Jae. As the director said in the commentary, they didn't want to go longer than 2 hours, so that's why most of these scenes are here]
- Supporting Cast [12:08. This is an interesting clip where we get to see the extras... one of them being Seol Kyung-Gu himself, who passes in front of the camera during the scene when Lee Hwi-Hyang and Song Yoon-Ah ride on a scooter. In the final film we only see the middle half of his body, so we couldn't possibly recognize him. Rest of the clip deals with supporting characters and cameos, and other NGs from the shoot. It's quite fun, actually)
- Poster Shoot [5:08. Includes Teaser and Final Poster]
- Promotion [Features a Music Video (3:13, by Kim Young-Woo. A pretty decent ballad, and a nice Music Video), a Teaser Trailer (1:41. This is pretty nice. It must have been released quite early in the shoot, as we get a few images from the films, and other shots of lovers in b&w -- some of them are familiar actors from TV), a Theatrical Trailer (2:24, Very good as well, pushing the right buttons without spoiling too much) and a TV Spot (0:32. Pretty decent)]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 7
It's a shame this film ended up being ignored for the most part, as it's a quality melodrama with two strong central performances. If anything this film doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, as its charms lie in the chemistry between the leads and the subtlety of the story. Nicely paced (slow, as most of these films end up being), with a top notch soundtrack and pretty good direction by Chu Chang-Min, who hit two in a row after 마파도 (Mapado: Island of Fortunes). DVD could have been a little better in terms of presentation, but extra features are quite good. Definitely worth a look.
OVERALL: 6.93

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Cinema Service/Art Service - 2006/04/06
썬데이 서울 (Ssunday Seoul)
2006 - 1DVD
Director: 박상훈 (Park Sang-Hoon)
Cast: 봉태규 (Bong Tae-Gyu), 이청아 (Lee Cheong-Ah), 고은아 (Go Eun-Ah), 박성빈 (Park Sung-Bin), 김수현 (Kim Soo-Hyun), 전재형 (Jeon Jae-Hyung), 김추련 (Kim Chu-Ryeon), 정소녀 (Jung So-Nyeo), 최민석 (Choi Min-Seok), 정아름 (Jung Ah-Reum), 권일수 (Kwon Il-Soo), 권종관 (Kwon Jong-Gwan), 유미란 (Yoo Mi-Ran)
CAMEO: 용이 (Yong Yi), 윤상현 (Yoon Sang-Hyun), 이현우 (Lee Hyun-Woo), DJ DOC, 김수미 (Kim Soo-Mi), 추상미 (Chu Sang-Mi - VOICE), 임예진 (Im Ye-Jin - VOICE)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, DD5.1/2.0, NTSC DVD-9, Region 3, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 5
Sunday Seoul... the memories. Perhaps the most popular Korean magazine of all time, it had an impressive, unbeatable run from 1968 to 1991, selling an average of over 100,000 copies per issue, with a record of 230,000. It featured all the elements of pulp culture: politics, entertainment news, society, and of course a little eye candy (you know what I mean). Most importantly, it was incredibly silly, bizarre, you know, the kind of magazines Shin Ha-Gyun in 지구를 지켜라 (Save The Green Planet) would read. So when longtime producer Park Sang-Hoon decided to make a film capturing the essence of the legendary magazine, I was more than intrigued. This could have turned into a major cult hit, mixing silly comedy with SF, Horror, Coming of Age Drama, Martial Arts paying homage to Shaw Brothers films and more. Recruiting popular actors like Bong Tae-Gyu along with interesting new faces like Go Eun-Ah for a no guarantee clause, spending very little on a extremely quick production (Director Park was in between projects, and shot everything in a month), Ssunday Seoul tried to emphasize the 'analogue' feel that fit so well with the magazine.

And the start is great: right from the opening sequence, which at first was to be used for a PIFF intro, with a heavy metal cover of Oxen80's 불놀이야 and an interesting editing style, the first part of this omnibus -- 늑대 인간 (Teen Wolf) -- deserved its own film. Bong Tae-Gyu plays a 왕따 (outcast) in love with the school's belle (Go Eun-Ah), having to go through the embarrassing and depressing treatment of his thuggish schoolmates (who are a total riot, and will probably remind some people of their high school days) on a daily basis. But soon he realizes he's not just different because he's cast aside by the mainstream, when mommy and daddy reveal their long kept secret: That he's a were... well, look at the title! Funny, poignant, well shot despite the shoestring budget and deliriously silly, with the right director (I'm thinking Im Pil-Sung or Kim Ji-Woon would give this justice) and the longer feature format this could have been a minor gem.

Problem then is the rest of the film, which goes from a supremely uninspired horror with Park Sung-Bin and former Miss Korea contestant Jung Ah-Reum, to an almost pitiful homage to the Martial Arts films of yore, with Lee Cheong-Ah's usual nonexistent acting sticking out like a sore thumb. If anything saves this film it's the soundtrack -- even if it's a cover, throw in Songgolmae's 세상만사 in ANY film and you'll put a smile on my face -- ranging from metal to rock classics to Pop-Rock (Loveholic) and Hip Hop (TBNY!), and of course the great little cameos. CF/Trailer and sometimes film director Yong Yi can create some priceless facial expression, and Kim Soo-Mi does her usual magic with the little she's given. I understand the concept was just to make a fun film, but although the first part is really really good, the rest of the film sadly conveys that 'throwaway' spirit. At the end of the day, it seems like they had more fun shooting the film than us viewers will have watching it. Nice idea, bad execution, but it's worth trying again.
VIDEO: 7.5
Very solid transfer with no particular problems. The low budget clearly influences the look of the film, but the CG is actually decent considering the short production time.
AUDIO: 7
Again, nothing fantastic but it does its job quite well. The really good soundtrack sticks out particularly.
SUBTITLES: 7
Generally good, with a few touchy spots of translation and a few spots where going literal would have been a better option, but otherwise no complaints.
EXTRA FEATURES: 6.5
Disc 1 [~54 Minutes]
- Audio Commentary with Director Park, and during the course of the film a few of the actors join in, like Lee Cheong-Ah. [A pretty good commentary, with some interesting tidbits, the most important being that Go Eun-Ah's character WASN'T a werewolf just like Bong Tae-Gyu, but she was actually a vampire. He wanted to create this 'impossible love' a la Romeo & Juliet, but he wasn't able to, so that's all that remains (this makes the ending a little ridiculous, but then again most people will just think she's a werewolf, and the film is better off that way)]
Page 1
- Making Of Docs for each of the three parts [All three pretty ordinary. First is 9:02, behind the scenes of a couple of scenes a few comments from Bong Tae-Gyu; Second is 6:00 with a few Behind the Scenes clips and comments from Park Sung-Bin; Third is 10:41 and is mostly action, or the actors' training, with comments from the cast]
- Deleted Scenes [12:35, with Director/Cast Commentary. Nothing here looked like it could have improved the film]
Page 2
- Interview with the director [8:55, opens introducing how the film got started, admitting that this was pretty much a film he did in between something else, for a month. Then he moves to the single episodes. Good]
- Cameos [4:07, mostly Kim Soo-Mi's part. I love TBNY, but their song pretty much covers everything, including some of Kim's comments, who comments she liked the role and hopes the film will succeed. Second part is about Lee Hyun-Woo's cameo and finally we get a few words from DJ DOC. Very throwaway]
- Theatrical Trailer [2:22, way too many spoilers and editing is quite average]
- TV Spot [0:31, this makes the film look much more fun than it actually is]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 6
In good hands, with more time and a little more money this could have turned into another Save The Green Planet (of course not a masterpiece like Jang Joon-Hwan's 2003 film, but at least a good film with a similar tone). All the signs point to the Kim Ji-Woon/Im Pil-Sung/Han Jae-Rim omnibus 인류멸망 보고서 (Doomsday Book) as the next possible candidate, although that one will probably be a little darker. This is not a horrible film, as a few of its elements are definitely worth a look, and if you just want to spend two fun hours it wouldn't be a bad choice. But it just feels like they ran out of ideas past the first part, and just went with the flow without caring about the little details. DVD is satisfactory all considered, with not much in the way of extras, but for a minor film like this we shouldn't complain.
OVERALL: 6.29

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HB Entertainment - 2006/04/05
투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher)
2006 - 2DVD
Director: 김동원 (Kim Dong-Won)
Cast: 정준호 (Jung Joon-Ho), 김상중 (Kim Sang-Joong), 정웅인 (Jung Woong-In), 정운택 (Jung Woon-Taek), 한효주 (Han Hyo-Joo), 최윤영 (Choi Yoon-Young), 강성필 (Kang Sung-Pil), 김응수 (Kim Eung-Soo)
CAMEO: 임성민 (Im Sung-Min), 이태란 (Lee Tae-Ran), 하하 (Ha Ha), 춘자 (Choonja), 김홍식 (Kim Heung-Shik)
OAR 2.35:1/16:9, DD5.1/2.0, NTSC DVD-9, Region 3, English/Korean Subtitles
FILM: 3
As the title of the original, 2001's 두사부일체 (My Boss, My Hero) noted, 'the grace of the Boss, the Teacher and the Parents are equal.' Especially in Chungmuro, where in the meantime gangster comedies have become producers' favourite steady-seller. Whereas the original was handled by Yoon Je-Gyun, a capable director and producer (at least when it comes to comedy), the sequel 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) was given to a first time director, Kim Dong-Won. And mind you, this is not your usual Foreign film-school graduate coming back to get a quick pass into the Chungmuro power structure with a safe film (meaning horror or gangster comedy nowadays). Kim is one of the Top CF directors in Korea, winner of several important awards ever since the early 90s. He made ads for major brands like Domino Pizza, LG, Daewoo and more, and worked with all sorts of important stars, from Bae Yong-Joon to Song Kang-Ho. But his calling card to this debut film was probably his work as a Trailer director: his are the Trailers for 주홍글씨 (The Scarlet Letter), 여자, 정혜 (This Charming Girl), 잠복근무 (She's on Duty) and more.

Now this not only gives away the style of the film, but also the kind of film it was in terms of structure: you have a stylish newcomer who won't complain or try to give the film a personal identity, which essentially allows the producers to run the entire ship, and the star actors to control it with their peculiarities. Of course many comedies, like the 가문 (Mafia) saga, work along those lines, but things are much more obvious in this film. Product placement is rather obnoxious, and the film looks much 'cleaner' than many films of this genre. Problem of course is that the lack of personality in terms of storytelling, pacing and everything else not dealing with visuals shows. This film is tremendously uneven, and it moves at a glacial pace. Yet one could forget all those problems, if the film was actually entertaining. The Jung Trio (Jung Joon-Ho, Jung Woong-In and Jung Woon-Taek) pestered all sort of popular TV Variety shows (including KBS' Sang Sang Plus) for weeks, preparing viewers for an 'upgrade' of the 2001 film. But in this case it's more of an update than, say, real upgrades like what Kim Young-Joon did with 무영검 (Shadowless Sword). Update because, essentially, they took the same structure and updated the jokes a little.

So we go from Internet cafe jokes to Cyworld/PSY and 'net money'. Even the melodrama suffers the same treatment, going from class divide to 원조교제 (dating minors) and the usual corruption in school. A few gags work, mostly dealing with Jung Woong-In's deadly timing and Jung Woon-Taek's willingness to embarrass himself. But the majority of the film feels like a boiled potato slowly crumbling under your eyes. We get a collection of sitcom-like situations, sometimes handled well (the various parodies of older Korean films) but most of the time done lazily -- this has to be the worst script of the year -- or in some cases even insultingly (Han Hyo-Joo's character arc. She's lovely and even shows some promise, but just like in 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz) she's given nothing to work with).

What could possibly make this film worthy of the 6 Million tickets it sold (becoming the most successful comedy of all time)? Nothing really. It's just that weeks of appearances on TV made it look like this would be a lightweight, mindless 2 hours of fun, just like 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2). Since we're there, you know what's this film's biggest problem? Marrying The Mafia 2 knows all too well it's crap, but tries to make things entertaining for the entire film; My Boss, My Teacher thinks it's entertaining, but all this ends up being is two hours of crap. I'd love to be spared of a third installment, but 6 Million tickets probably say we'll see another of those: "Yeah, we're gangsters again, so what?" posters...
AUDIO: 7
With the exception of the few action scenes, surround speakers are rarely used, but a pretty nice track, with clear dialogue and no problems of any sort.
VIDEO: 7.5
Good stuff. Satisfactory black levels and no major edge enhancement problems. The transfer is in near perfect condition, and colours look great.
SUBTITLES: 3.5
Think you've seen bad subtitles? Think again. I know all too well comedy rarely translates, especially local comedy. But this is an embarrassment. Now, it's obvious there's no way to convey why the Cy(world)/Psy joke is funny, but the only way is staying literal. Another DVD released recently by HB Ent. proved that, the Jung Jae-Young/Soo Ae film 나의 결혼원정기 (Wedding Campaign), which had possibly the best English Subs of the year, and that was because it never tried to make cute jokes out of things difficult to translate. There's moments, lasting even minutes, when the subtitles simply take off and stop translating, to make up their own story (which is embarrassingly lame in most cases). They make up names of characters (dumb-garl? B-Boys? Who worked on these, a pre-school kid?). 90% of the comedy is killed by the subs, so if those are all you have to follow the film, you're only left with the physical comedy (which is certainly there, but is only half the 'fun'). The film is bad already, but with subs like these, it will make it look even worse.
EXTRA FEATURES: 7
Disc 1
- Audio commentary with Director Kim Dong-Won, Choi Yoon-Young, Jung Woong-In, Kim Sang-Joong, Jung Joon-Ho and Joon Woon-Taek is a decent listen [certainly better than the film itself. Mixes info about the shoot with other little anecdotes. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but it's worth a look. Only problem is it's called 포복절도 (your Korean equivalent of 'rolling on the floor laughing') Commentary. I didn't roll that much, honestly]
Disc 2 [~85 Minutes]
Page 1
- Making Of [11:05, usual mix of behind the scenes and comments from the actors, but focuses more on the interviews than the action]
- Making Of Documentary [26:06, mixes interviews, behind the scenes and footage from the film. Actually quite good]
- Interviews with director and cast [16:33. There's also some behind the scenes clips. Decent, but rarely goes beyond introducing the characters and adding a few tidbits about the shoot]
- NG [16:40, We start with the parody of Kwak Jae-Yong's 'masterpiece' to Choonja's cameo and more. Pretty enjoyable stuff, Jung Woong-In is priceless shooting the Karaoke scenes]
- Behind The Scene [4:40, actually it's just a few comments from all the major actors, followed by a few clips of the crew preparing certain scenes and similar things. This is stuff that should be used for the website -- and it probably was -- but feels quite throwaway on a DVD]
Page 2
- Production Meeting [3:32, starts with a few clips from the shoot of the final action scene, and then moves inside for the real meeting, concluding with a few comments from the stars]
- VIP Screening [5:29, usual introductions from the director and cast, followed by scenes of the crowd enjoying the film -- seems like the same two-three people featured, wonder why. Sort of pointless]
- Teaser Trailer [1:24, mixes clips of the original film with silly on screen text and little else. This was clearly done when they were still shooting]
- TV Spot [1:03, a shorter version of the Theatrical Trailer, essentially]
- Theatrical Trailer [1:58, pretty decent, pushing the right scenes and this at least shows the 'mood change' in an effective way]
- Music Video [3:24, more than a music video this pushes the more dramatic scenes of the film, with Im Hyung-Joo's 서곡 playing in background. I detest popera so I'm not exactly the best person to judge this kind of music, but this makes the film look like an action melodrama more than the silly comedy it is... until Kim Sang-Joon's rear end appears, and it all turns back to reality. Of course using a song like this with action or comedy is like mixing chocolate and dried squid... but to each his own, I guess]
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5
I said more than once Chungmuro needs variety, and parts of that variety is entertaining commercial crap like 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2) or the 조폭마누라 (My Wife is a Gangster) saga. The problem then is that this film is simply not entertaining, and it tries too hard to be both funny and touching, throw in some action and half assed sentiment. I wouldn't call it disappointing as I expected nothing more than a few funny gags, but it doesn't deliver much on those terms either. I'd love to throw out the 'for a 6 Million seller this DVD is pretty disappointing' line, but frankly considering how bad this film is, even a mostly throwaway release like this is all it deserves. I mean, you could shoot half an hour of actors doing NGs, which would be the only chance to make this fun, otherwise what are you going to talk about, the script? That'd be comedy. I liked the original, hell, I'd happily rewatch entertaining crap like Marrying The Mafia 2. But this is just a big product placement for the stars, and nothing more. I'd expect something like this from Hollywood, but Chungmuro can and should do better.
OVERALL: 5.15

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TOP 10 DVDs REVIEWED
=================================
2005/07/01~2006/04/30

01. 9.36 - 형사 Duelist - 3DVD - enterOne
02. 9.00 - 왕의 남자 (The King & The Clown) - 3DVD+OST - Art Service
03. 8.78 - 주먹이 운다 (Crying Fist) - 2DVD - enterOne
04. 8.77 - 친절한 금자씨 (Sympathy For Lady Vengeance) - 2DVD - CJ Entertainment
05. 8.64 - 남극일기 (Antarctic Journal) - 2DVD - enterOne
06. 8.64 - 웰컴 투 동막골 (Welcome To Dongmakgol) - 2DVD - KD Media
07. 8.50 - 달콤한 인생 (A Bittersweet Life) - 2DVD Director's Cut - CJ Entertainment
08. 8.36 - 청연 (Blue Swallow) - 2DVD LE - Bitwin
09. 8.29 - 그때 그사람들 (The President's Last Bang) - 2DVD - KD Media
10. 8.21 - 음란서생 (Forbidden Quest) - 2DVD - enterOne

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NEXT
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[K-FILM VIEW - ON DVD] 달콤, 살벌한 연인 (My Scary Girl)
[K-FILM VIEW - ON DVD] 사생결단 (Bloody Tie)
[K-FILM VIEW - ON DVD] 짝패 (The City of Violence)
[K-FILM TIME MACHINE] 대학로에서 매춘하다가 토막 살해 당한 여고생 아직 대학로에 있다 (Teenage Hooker Becomes Killing Machine)
[Korean DVD Roundup] May 2006
[Korean DVD Roundup] January 2006